9781422286265

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Caribbean Islands : Facts and Figures

continues with St. Eustatius, Saba, Anguilla, St. Martin/Sint Maarten, St. Barthélemy, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, and Guadeloupe (these are known collectively as the Leeward Islands). To the south are Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada (these are called the Windward Islands). Further south are Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (the ABC Islands), which sit off the coast of Venezuela. Mountains and Beaches Seventy million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, a set of volcanoes violently erupted from the sea floor and formed most of the Caribbean islands. But not all the islands are of volcanic origin. The Bahamas are coral reefs, for example, and Trinidad was connected to the South American main- land just 10,000 years ago. Many of the islands are crossed by mountain ranges, the peaks of the volcanoes that formed the islands millions of years ago. Although it occurs rarely, these volcanoes are capable of becoming active and causing great rain forests— dense tropical forests that enjoy heavy rainfall. savannas— dry grasslands that receive seasonal rains. trade winds— winds that blow steadily from the northeast to the equator, cooling the Caribbean. Words to Understand in This Chapter